But the two men do not see eye-to-eye on Palestinians having a state, a solution Biden has advocated to achieve long-term peace.

“The president also discussed his vision for a more durable peace and security for Israel fully integrated within the region and a two state-solution with Israel’s security guaranteed,” the White House said in a statement about their call.

Netanyahu had said in a press conference that he told Washington he objected to any Palestinian statehood that did not guarantee Israel’s security. “Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. That’s a necessary condition,” he said.

Biden’s call came as Red Crescent officials accused Israel of firing on a hospital in Khan Younis, the main city in the southern part of Gaza.

It said displaced people were injured “due to intense gunfire from the Israeli drones targeting citizens at Al-Amal Hospital” as well as the rescue agency’s base. The military said it was checking the report.

Nearby, Israeli tanks were also approaching Gaza’s biggest remaining functioning hospital, Nasser, where people reported hearing shellfire from the west. Residents also reported fierce gun battles to the south.

Israel launched a major new advance this week to capture Khan Younis, which it says is now the primary base of Hamas fighters who attacked Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1200 and precipitating a war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

In the north, where Israel says it has started pulling out troops and shifting to smaller scale operations, 12 people were killed in strikes on a residential building near the largely non-functioning Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said.

An Israeli strike on a house in Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed five Palestinians.

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The Gaza Health Ministry said 142 Palestinians were killed and 278 injured in Gaza in the previous 24 hours, raising the death toll from more than three months of war to 24,762.

Asked about a request by Mexico and Chile for the International Criminal Court to investigate potential crimes against civilians in Gaza, Kirby said the US was still gathering more information about what that would entail.

“We don’t have any indications that there’s deliberate ... efforts to commit war crimes by the Israeli Defence Forces,” Kirby said.

Kirby also expressed concerned about reports from Palestinian health officials who said a 17-year-old Palestinian-American teenager was killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank on Friday.

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“We’re seriously concerned about these reports,” Kirby said. “We’re going to be in constant touch with counterparts in the region to get more information.”

Meanwhile, US Central Command forces conducted strikes against three Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen that were aimed into the southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch, the US military said on X.

The incident late on Friday (AEDT), was the latest amid growing tensions in the Red Sea that have disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply bottlenecks.

The Houthis, who control the most populous part of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians under attack from Israel in Gaza.

Reuters